Flexible pouch with reinforced side seal

ABSTRACT

A flexible pouch formed of a sheet of laminate material sealed together along its edges forming an outer peripheral side seal having an inner peripheral side seal is provided. The inner peripheral side seal extends generally from a top edge of the pouch body and is adjacent the proximal edge of the side seal. The inner peripheral seal extends downwardly towards a bottom end of the pouch and includes a tapered end so as to facilitate the expansion of a gusset.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/139,058 filed Mar. 27, 2015, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

A flexible pouch having a generally rectangular pouch body with a reinforced side seal is provided.

2. Description of the Related Art

Flexible pouches are currently known and used. An example of a currently used flexible pouch is provided in FIG. 1. The flexible pouch is formed of laminate material. The sides of the laminate material are sealed together by sealing bars. An opening is formed so as to allow a fitment to be introduced therein. The bottom of the pouch may include a gusset. The gusset helps the pouch expand as fluid is introduced. Typically the pouches are formed at a manufacturing location and shipped to various distribution centers and sales centers. During the shipment the pouches may be subjected to force which applies pressure along the outer edges of the pouch body so as to weaken the side seal and generate a leak. Accordingly, it remains desirable to have a pouch body wherein the side seals are reinforced so as to allow the pouch to withstand additional loads.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A flexible pouch formed of a sheet of laminate material is provided. The flexible pouch includes a secondary side seal running along a first peripheral side seal of the pouch body. The secondary side seal extends inwardly into the pouch body and axially along the side of the pouch so as to provide additional reinforcement to the pouch and allow the pouch to maintain its integrity while being subjected to loads relative to current pouches.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a prior art pouch showing the dimensions of the side seals;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a flexible pouch according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 taken along lines 3-3; and

FIG. 4 is an embodiment of the flexible pouch wherein the inner peripheral seal is thicker relative to the outer peripheral seal.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A flexible pouch formed of a sheet of laminate material sealed together along its edges forming an outer peripheral side seal having an inner peripheral side seal is provided. The inner peripheral side seal extends generally from a top edge of the pouch body and is adjacent the proximal edge of the side seal. The inner peripheral seal extends downwardly towards a bottom end of the pouch and includes a tapered end so as to facilitate the expansion of a gusset.

With reference now to FIG. 2, an illustrative view of the flexible pouch 10 is provided. As shown, the flexible pouch 10 is formed of a sheet of laminate material. The flexible pouch includes a pouch body 12 configured to hold a liquid substance such as a drink. An outer peripheral side seal 14 extends around the periphery of the pouch body 12. The outer peripheral side seal 14 has a width “W1” and may be formed by using known techniques such as a sealing bar which are pressed together so as to apply a temperature treatment fusing the sheets of laminate material together.

The pouch body 12 may further include an opening 16. For illustrative purposes the opening 16 is shown generally centered along a top edge 18 of the pouch body 12. A fitment 20 is mounted in the opening 16. Fitments are currently known and used, and any fitment currently known and used may be adapted to be used herein.

The pouch further includes an inner peripheral seal 22. The inner peripheral seal 22 is disposed adjacent and contiguous to the outer peripheral side seal 14. The flexible pouch 10 includes two inner peripheral seals 22, each disposed on opposing sides of the pouch body 12. Each inner peripheral seal 22 is disposed on opposing sides of the pouch body 12 and contiguous to a corresponding outer peripheral seal 14. The inner peripheral seal 22 includes a top corner 24 which is generally rounded so as to help distribute fluid pressure along the inner peripheral seal 22.

The inner peripheral seal 22 may be formed by application of a seal bar. The seal bar is pressed along proximal edge of the peripheral side seal 14. The seal bar may be configured to form stampings 26 onto the sheet of material. As shown, one of the stampings 26 is a generally rectangular member. Another of the stampings 26 is a triangular shape, and yet another of the stampings 26 is generally an oblong oval. The stampings 26 may form a space to house a transmitter such as an RFID tag.

The inner peripheral seal 22 has a width “W2” which may be more than twice the width of the outer peripheral side seal 14. The inner peripheral seal 22 may be formed using a standard seal bar currently known and used in the art wherein the same heat treatment used to form the inner peripheral seal 22 is used to form the inner peripheral seal 22.

A bottom portion 28 of the inner peripheral seal 22 is tapered so as to accommodate the expansion of the pouch which is further facilitated by a bottom gusset 30. The bottom of the pouch body 12 may include a pair of seals having an edge angled so as to form a generally “V” shaped pocket 32 which cooperates with the gusset 28 so as to facilitate expansion of the pouch body 12.

Further, inner peripheral seal 22 adds structural rigidity to the pouch 10 which helps the pouch maintain an upright position when placed on the bottom gusset 30. It should be further appreciated that the inner peripheral side seal 22 may be of a uniform thickness relative to the outer peripheral side seal 14 as shown in FIG. 3. Alternatively, the inner peripheral side seal 22 may be thicker in dimension than the outer peripheral side seal 14 as shown in FIG. 4.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings and may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described. 

We claim:
 1. A flexible pouch formed of a sheet of laminate material, the flexible pouch configured to hold a liquid substance, the flexible pouch comprising: a pouch body having an opening and a gusset formed along the bottom of the pouch body; an outer peripheral side seal extending around the periphery of the pouch body; and an inner peripheral seal disposed adjacent and contiguous to the outer peripheral side seal, a bottom portion of the inner peripheral seal is tapered so as to form a generally “V” shaped pocket which cooperates with the gusset so as to facilitate expansion of the pouch body.
 2. The flexible pouch as set forth in claim 1, wherein the outer peripheral side seal has a width, and the inner peripheral seal has a width which is twice the width of the outer peripheral side seal.
 3. The flexible pouch as set forth in claim 1, wherein the opening is generally centered along a top edge of the pouch body, and a fitment is mounted in the opening.
 4. The flexible pouch as set forth in claim 1, including two inner peripheral seals, each inner peripheral seal is disposed on opposing sides of the pouch body and contiguous to a corresponding outer peripheral seal.
 5. The flexible pouch as set forth in claim 1, wherein the inner peripheral seal includes a top corner which is generally rounded so as to help distribute fluid pressure along the inner peripheral seal.
 6. The flexible pouch as set forth in claim 1, further including a stamping, the stamping formed on one of either the inner peripheral side seal or the outer peripheral side seal, the stamping forming a space for housing an transmitter.
 7. The flexible pouch as set forth in claim 1, wherein the inner peripheral side seal is of a uniform thickness relative to the outer peripheral side seal.
 8. The flexible pouch as set forth in claim 1, wherein the inner peripheral side seal is thicker in dimension than the outer peripheral side seal. 